This April, I returned to the Royal Arch Loop but went in via Point Huitzil- an ancient Anasazi route that uses some pretty ingenious ways including an ancient log ladder to get through the cliffs in the Coconino:

Thanks for sharing. This is a fun route alright! Hank - perhaps a Pt Huitzil Royal arch do over ....? _________________Photos: http://www.pbase.com/desertgirl/galleries
Life is but a dream ...there is no end to what you can dream!

Royal Arch remains one of the last of the main trails off S. Rim I haven't done yet, plus parts of Tonto-Escalante. I sure hope to get in on one sometime before my knees give out! Haven't had the time, since that trip takes more than the three nights I usually have.

Glad to hear it was fun!

Hank, is Royal Arch something I can see on the river trip? How far is it from the river?

To get to Royal Arch from the river, you would have to be comfortable climbing the 20' rappel.

And, it would be a good part of a day long hike to get there and back (at least, it would be for me...), with the climb going in and rappel on the way back..._________________The world is older and bigger than we are. This is a hard truth for some folks to swallow. —EDWARD ABBEY

Gotcha. Thanks for the info. I'm sure the boatmen on my trips know the hikes, but I was just curious. Also, one thing about river trips is you get to go to MatKat and other places not readily accessible from hiking down from the rims.

Gotcha. Thanks for the info. I'm sure the boatmen on my trips know the hikes, but I was just curious. Also, one thing about river trips is you get to go to MatKat and other places not readily accessible from hiking down from the rims.

One of the nice things I discovered on the river trip I took a few years back is that the boats act as sort of a moving trail head for the places that its impractical to try to hike to..._________________The world is older and bigger than we are. This is a hard truth for some folks to swallow. —EDWARD ABBEY

Thanks for the trip report -- You all had a great trip..brought back memories of 2 different canyon trips .... We did Pt Huitzil down to the tree ladder & then some one reminded us of it being an archelogical relic so we looked at left ...
Another trip was an absolutely delightful trip to the Royal arch via the normal route ...

so some day I might have to go and do it again ... and complete it via the Pt Huitzil Route .. Seems like its "interesting!"_________________Photos: http://www.pbase.com/desertgirl/galleries
Life is but a dream ...there is no end to what you can dream!